September 5, 2014
Paul commended the Corinthian church for its excellence in many areas. Yet, they were woefully lacking in one important place, the practice of giving. They were not a giving church. He brought this to their attention so that they might “excel” in it. Paul didn’t just challenge them to become occasional givers or sentimental givers, but excellent and gracious givers. Are you practicing the act of giving, so that you excel in this grace?
September 3, 2014
Paul’s warning does not mean separatism. He is not advising that we avoid unbelievers. In the previous chapter, Paul had just written about being entrusted with the “message of reconciliation,” so this requires engaging with lost people. What he is warning against is being partners with them. This should inform our plans for marriage, for church membership and other forms of partnership. Believers should not date or marry unbelievers. Churches should require belief before membership. Even business partnerships should be carefully considered. Successful partnerships have unity of vision and belief. When believers partner with unbelievers, this disunity of belief eventually leads to discord. Save yourself the pain and follow Paul’s advice.
September 1, 2014
Who has been given this message of reconciliation? Everyone who has been reconciled in Christ. The reconciled no longer evaluate others from a human point of view, based on outward differences of gender, ethnicity, or status. Those reconciled see only people of two spiritual conditions: those who have received the message, and those who have not. The reconciled have the most wonderful good news to tell those who are far from God. They feel called to organize their lives around obeying Christ’s command to bear witness of this message of reconciliation to the ends of the earth.
August 31, 2014
“We know.” This faith we have is based on the historical resurrection of Jesus. We look at this fact, believing it, and this faith becomes like confident knowledge. Believing that God raised Jesus in the past, we also believe that He will raise us with Jesus in the future. Our future hope is anchored in this already-fulfilled past. Ours is not blind faith or empty hope. “We know” that the same God who raised Christ, will raise us too.
August 30, 2014
Our message is not about us, but about our Lord. For we are like clay pots containing a great treasure. Our weakness only serves to emphasize the greatness of Christ within us. When we want people to see us, to applaud our efforts, we forget that our purpose is to cause others to give glory to God, not to us. For people to see the Treasure, we must decrease, so that He might increase. We are to live in such a manner that there is no other explanation for our existence than God’s power within us.
August 28, 2014
Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas (In modern Turkey, near the ancient ruins of Troy). What is this “door of opportunity?” It is when the Lord causes a certain people in a certain place at a certain time to be receptive to the gospel. We cannot open this door. But we can knock. If no one answers, we go to the next. Our calling is to let the gospel knock on as many doors as we can reach. And when the Lord opens a door, we enter and stay for as long as we’re welcome. Are you looking for open doors where the Lord is already at work causing gospel-receptivity?
August 26, 2014
We are often called to minister to others out of the very place that we ourselves have once suffered. The fatherless find comfort in the Father and grow up to care for the widow and orphan. The cancer survivor visits the chemo patient. The addict whom Christ has set free declares the good news to those still in bondage. This ministry would not be possible were it offered from our brokenness. It is possible because it comes from the overflow of comfort that we ourselves have received from God. Have you received this excess of comfort that flows first to you and then through you to others?
May 25, 2014 | 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 |
Justin Norden continues our series, “Diagnosing Your Spiritual Health”, by helping us diagnose whether we are growing in generosity. Christian generosity is about more than money. We must trust God to supply our needs, be good stewards of God’s resources and then respond to Christ’s sacrifice for us by being generous on all occasions and growing in him.
February 9, 2014 | 2 Corinthians 1:3-10 |
Pastor Gary Combs concluded the “SHAPEd for Significance” series with this message from 2 Corinthians about how God wants to use our experiences, both good and bad to comfort others and to bring glory to Him.
January 19, 2014 | 2 Corinthians 4:1-18 |
As we continue to discover how God has SHAPEd us all uniquely for significant service to God’s Kingdom, Pastor Gary Combs helps us understand how God gives us a heart transplant when we are saved, so that our passions align with the rest of our SHAPE and begin to beat in alignment with His.